


Worth The Sneezes

by Banoffee_Macdonald



Category: Casualty (TV)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Romance, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29957781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Banoffee_Macdonald/pseuds/Banoffee_Macdonald
Summary: Set in February 2018. Weeks into a newly rekindled relationship, Dylan is adamant that he will give Sam a gift she will love (no matter the effect it may have on him). Meanwhile, Sam is puzzling over what to do for Dylan’s gift.
Relationships: Dylan Keogh/Sam Nicholls





	Worth The Sneezes

**Author's Note:**

> Just some sweet Sylan Valentine's day fluff based on a drawing I did of Sam and Dylan for Valentine's Day. This one-shot is the extended (and improved) version of the small extract that I posted as the caption for the drawing. If you want to check it out, you can find it on my Instagram account @/casualty_draws.

Standing in front of the supermarket aisle, he felt utterly overwhelmed. Not just by the sheer variety of flowers and plants that were arranged on the shelves, which in itself was bad enough when he would have to choose just one, but by the ever-increasing feeling of his eyes beginning to itch and water. 

A quick look at his watch reminded him that if he didn’t hurry he would miss her on her lunch break. That would leave him to carry the flowers through the department more than he wanted. They were only two months into their rekindled relationship and had so far managed to avoid becoming the talking point of the department. Dylan was sure that his colleagues would definitely want to ask questions about his possession of a bouquet of flowers, questions he was desperate to avoid. His need to avoid this awkward confrontation in the department spurred him to make a decision. 

He grabbed the biggest bunch of flowers on the shelf; a beautiful arrangement of yellow and pink flowers surrounded by vibrant green. They were sure to make her smile. Aware of the time, he rushed to the crowded checkout area, praying that he wouldn’t get stuck in some ungodly queue. 

The young man serving him chuckled as he looked between the flowers and Dylan, his nose becoming itchy and red along with his eyes. 

“She must be really special then.”

Dylan smiled slightly, the thought of the flower’s recipient enough to overcome his increasing need for a tissue. 

“She is.”

-

Sam wearily entered the staffroom in dire need of a strong coffee and a rest. Somehow the people of Holby still found time to get into all sorts of bother on Valentine’s Day, and for some even more so. Having been worked off her feet since seven in the morning, she hadn’t had a chance to properly think about what the day would mean for her. 

She had spent the past few days desperately trying to figure out what she could give or do for Dylan. Would he want to go out for dinner (food was always a way to keep him happy) or would he appreciate something else, a small gift perhaps? She didn’t want to do too much, to risk their changed relationship when it was only a very recent development, but she wanted to do something.

Taking a sip of warm coffee, Sam lent back against the counter and racked her brain for a gift that would be “Dylan Keogh approved”.

-

It was the sound of sneezing that told her he’d done it again. She had spent every year of their first time together insisting that he didn’t have to put himself through all the trouble but every year he would stubbornly ignore her. Even after all the changes in their lives, it was reassuring to know that Dylan’s stubbornness hadn’t faded, it was what made him the person he was.

She looked up from her coffee to be met by a red-faced Dylan. His face was all flushed, with his nose being the worst, and his eyes were watering heavily- the cause of this blatantly obvious. In his arms, he held the biggest bunch of flowers she’d ever seen, filled with different colours and giving off the most beautiful smell. 

“Why do you do this?” She said with a chuckle placing her mug down on the counter beside her, “What is so important to you that you’ll voluntarily put yourself through all this?” She quickly took the flowers out of Dylan’s arms as he turned and sneezed again. The pollen coming from the flowers holding him hostage to his allergies. Sam had never seen them this bad. 

After his sneezing had subsided he turned back to face her with his characteristic half-smile that made her smile too. 

“It’s Valentine’s Day. The day when you deserve to be spoilt and I know how much of a soft spot you have for flowers. They make you happy and to me, that is worth more than my pollen allergies reducing me to a snuffling mess. 

Sam chuckled again, taking his face in her hands and bringing it closer to her own.

“Oh grumpy,” she whispered, “You really are a hopeless romantic but don’t worry, I won’t tell.” 

He didn’t reply. Instead, he closed the gap between them, their lips meeting for a soft kiss. It was beautiful, though short-lived as it wasn’t long before her beautiful Valentine’s gift caused Dylan to fall into another fit of sneezing.

-

The faint classical music danced through the boat as Dylan and Sam sat side-by-side on the sofa. They both balanced plates filled with Sam’s homemade spaghetti bolognaise on their laps with Dylan happily making his way through it. He had come home from his shift to find Sam busy cooking his favourite meal, not that he could smell it with his allergies and all. Even so, in Dylan’s eyes, the day had been perfect. 

He sneezed again, his plate precariously shaking as he jerked forward. His attention was drawn from his meal to Sam holding a packet of allergy meds. He took them from her with a smile. 

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked, her eyes moving towards the flowers now displayed in a glass vase and her expression falling, “I hate watching you snuffle away just because of them.” 

He placed the packet down by his plate and reached over to clasp her hand reassuringly. 

“How many times do I have to tell you”, he began, “I’d suffer my allergies for the rest of my life if it meant getting to see you smile.” This brought the smile he so dearly loved back to her face. After taking an antihistamine tablet with a mouthful of pasta he turned back to Sam, holding up the packet of remaining medication. 

“And anyway, I’m not suffering, that’s why I have these.” She began to giggle at this. He took his chance and leaned in. “And even more, I have you here with me. I could never suffer when you’re with me my darling.”

Their lips met, their dinners no longer important as they both edged closer to one another.

Dylan’s mind pushed any thoughts of his allergies to one side as he once again enjoyed a sweet Valentine's kiss with the woman he loved.

He would take all the streaming eyes and itchy noses any day. She would always be worth it.


End file.
